A graceful, shade-loving evergreen conifer that dominates the wet temperate forests of the Pacific Northwest beneath the Douglas fir canopy.
Where it grows
Western hemlock ranges along the Pacific coast from south-central Alaska through British Columbia to northern California, with an inland population in the wet interior cedar-hemlock forests of southeastern British Columbia, Idaho, and Montana. It needs cool, moist sites and tolerates very deep shade.
How to recognise it
The needles are short, flat, and unevenly sized — heterophylla means “varied leaves” — arranged in a flat spray along the twig with two white stomatal bands beneath. The leader at the top of the tree always droops, an instantly diagnostic field mark visible from a distance. The cones are small and pendant.
Uses
Western hemlock heartwood is light, pale, and even-grained, marketed as hem-fir for framing lumber, doors, mouldings, and pulp for high-quality paper. The bark was once an important commercial source of tannin for leather.
Ecology
Western hemlock is the climax species of the Pacific Northwest forest, slowly succeeding the faster-growing Douglas fir and Sitka spruce on undisturbed sites over centuries.
Find more trees by letter
Western Hemlock starts with W and ends with K. Browse other trees along the same letter.
Trees that contain a letter from "Western Hemlock":